I bought this rig to mount in the back of my Polaris Ranger because backpack sprayers were becoming a lot of work. In the first year it did a reasonable job around 8000 little trees, though I needed a driver for the Ranger.
As time went on the sprayer’s role changed to defender of the farm against invasive plant species, and in this role it served pretty well. A couple of tanks of Roundup mix per year did the job until wild parsnip moved in. I went at the parsnip with a vengeance and the sprayer continued to do its job with occasional repairs to the 12v outlet. I had to switch to a heavier plug because extended running would melt the little plugs.
Then came the current scourge of DSV (dog strangling vine) on a friend’s building lot, an intimidating mass of tangled vines stretching back into the forest. The pump delivered its load, but I melted a high-quality plug from sustained running.
I realized we need a longer hose to deal with this infestation as I don’t like disassembling the Ranger after every spraying session to ensure there are no seed pods hidden in its body.
The $129. sprayer has delivered yoeman service over five years with the only problems the power supply and occasional connections coming loose. I wish it had a 50′ hose as an option.
Update 10 August, 2014:
This morning I grafted 50′ of beverage tubing to the hose and tackled the DSV anew. The load of 1% Roundup 3 weeks ago made it easier to move around in the infested area, but there was still more to do.
With the property owner handling the Ranger and the hose, I was able to venture deep into the jungle and kill stuff all of the way out while Les withdrew the hose and coiled it in the back of the Ranger in preparation for the next sortie. We sprayed two, 15 gallon loads in an intensive session where, among other obstacles, I had to belay down a ten foot embankment into a loose pile of logs hidden under vines.
Mosquitoes and deer flies had no use for me today, I noticed. Roundup’s a good insect repellent, though I wouldn’t recommend it.
the Walnut Diary 